1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates generally to a rotary assembly unit, and more particularly, to a rotary piston displacing machine having a piston rotor comprising a rotatable set of pistons and a respective cylinder drum comprising a rotatable set of cylinders. The rotor and the drum are interengaged, each having a different but related rotating axes. The axes may be in any configuration, that is axial or radial. This rotary piston machine is a displacement machine having sealed work chambers. It uses a relative stroke motion in a rotating system. This kind of machine is identified by a wear-resistant power transmission which does not require bearings or a lubricant. This machine configuration may be applied to oil-free pumps, oil-free compressors, water hydraulic motors and combinations thereof as well as processing machines having flowing medians of varying capacity. The function of this machine will not be restricted by use of necessary elastic wall parts for the work chamber.
2. Description of Prior Art
A number of similar designs for rotary piston machines are known, particularly axial and radial piston pumps and compressors, as well as oil hydraulic motors, each having numerous bearings between the piston and the drive shaft. Such designs incorporating piston bearings necessitate the use of oil.
A problem with known rotary piston machine designs is that the center of each of piston strives to leave the axis of symmetry of each respective cylinder because both the piston and the cylinder revolve within different yet relative orbits. This produces a substantial amount of friction which has formerly been compensated for through the use of piston bearings which eliminate unwanted crosswise movement of the piston relative to the axis of the cylinder.
So far, attempts to reduce friction have not been completely successful and have created other problems. Not one design delivers a good combination of the high sealing performance of the classical piston system, the advantages of the rotary principle, particularly the kinematic advantages, and the renunciation of piston bearings. These features, in combination, would produce new piston engines which do not require piston bearings as well as provide a bearing free driving mechanism which could convert relative stroke motion machines into a wear-resistant rotary type machine. A machine combining these features would be useful in a large field of oil-free applications, such as oil-free pumps, oil-free compressors, and in water hydraulics. This invention delivers not only a new piston engine free of piston bearings but delivers a bearing free driving mechanism for converting all types of relative stroke motion machines into a rotary type machine.
For purposes of clarification, the following terms and definitions hereafter are used in the subsequent description. Cylinders are understood to be moving working space walls which have a constant but arbitrary cross section along the length of the stroke. The cylinders may be open or closed at both ends. The "figure axis" of a cylinder represents the axis which extends along the axis of symmetry of the cylinder and has the length equal to the stroke of the piston. Pistons may be move in the cylinders in the stroke direction. Further, each piston occupies the cross-sectional area of its respective cylinder to provide a seal of the working space such that during a stroke of the piston, the piston seal sweeps along the cylinder wall. Spherical pistons may be ball-shaped or calotte-shell shaped. The center of each shape corresponds to the center of the piston represented. In the context of the description, relative stroke motion means that no pure stroke motion occurs in a system fixed in space and further refers in general to a linear stroke motion which is superimposed in a moving system by a common rotation in which the momentary axes of rotation are described by arbitrary three-dimensional curves. "Single-piece" means one piece or several pieces integrally joined together, either threadably attached, forged, or welded, but not joined by bearings or other glidable parts which are subject to wear. "Different but related axis" means a small angle, a small distance, or a combination thereof which can exist between both axes to create a short stroke length.
A theoretical problem exists as follows. There are always at least two rigid parts that create one work chamber, a piston and a cylinder. Both the piston and the cylinder revolve about separate but related orbits, both revolve in the same direction, and both revolve at the same number of revolutions per second. The piston and the respective cylinder revolve in such a manner that periodic changes occur in the distance between corresponding fixed points represented by the two revolving bodies. The length of the stroke motion is represented by the change in distance between corresponding fixed points.
An unwanted motion, for example, a tip over or a rock vertical to the stroke motion is present in existing machines which so far has been compensated for through the use of piston bearings. The tip over can be substantially eliminated through the use of pivotal pistons. The remaining motion perpendicular to the stroke motion can be substantially eliminated by allowing one of the work chamber parts to move lateral to the stroke motion thereof. In other words, one of the orbits must be corrected such that the center of each piston and its respective seal remain along the figure axis of each respective cylinder. The correction is necessary only vertical to the stroke vector because within a cylindrical coordinate system, every point of the space within reach through one coordinate with the second coordinate being vertical in any direction. Out of it follows that every correction can be made through a movement vertical to the stroke vector.
The abstract solution is that each piston or its respective cylinder must be movable vertical to the stroke motion. This theory is valid for every kind of piston machine wherein pistons and their respective cylinders revolve within neighboring orbits. With this in mind, it must be possible to create a machine free of piston bearings in any and every case. This is a fundamental concept. This method is applicable for any and every case because the configuration of the orbits and in particular, the angle between the vectors of the rotation are free and changeable between 0 degrees and 360 degrees, therefore encompass the whole circle. This is true for all rotating piston engines. It is irrelevant whether there is a driving or driven shaft or whether there are several shafts, whether the shafts rotate, circulate or wobble, whether the creation of the stroke is attained through slanted axial alignment, eccentricity, wobbling or through a combination thereof. Moreover, shape, number of moving parts and position of the axes of rotation are irrelevant. Also, the parts which rotate, that is either the pistons or the cylinders, and the parts which only turn or rest, and whether the momentary axes of rotation rotate or carry out an oscillating motion are all irrelevant. The momentary axes of rotation may be inclined or may extend parallel to each other as in a radial piston engine, may be fixed with respect to a body and fixed in space, or neither fixed with respect to a body nor fixed in space, or may carry out any motion. The most basic engine or machine, thus is of inclined axial alignment and has a certain eccentricity in the stroke area.